It's hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone. We had a wonderful family holiday at our house, full of Christmas wonder, tasty treats and family fun. I have a feeling this is going to be a Christmas to remember, with the way the munchkin was so enthralled by all things holiday. Rather than ripping through all of his presents in 10 seconds flat, he took his time with each present, and wanted to play with each one before opening more. His favorite present, by far, was the Imaginext Batcave I picked up for him on Craig's List. It reminds me of when I was little and was obsessed with my He-Man and She-Ra castles; castle obsession clearly runs in the family!

Santa really spoiled me this year! I've been wanting to try a digital SLR camera for a long time, though I've enjoyed my little Nikon Coolpix this last year quite a bit. I just wanted a bit more artistic control over the camera than it's been capable of, so Santa brought me a gently used Canon Digital Rebel for Christmas.

It's amazing how different it is to shoot with this camera vs. my tiny (in comparison) CoolPix. I've been doing a lot of practicing with the new camera these last few days, which was terribly intimidating at first, but now is starting to feel a lot more fun now that I'm learning more about the different modes and how things work. I'm starting to get some good shots here and there, so I'm definitely learning.

Santa also picked up on the 17 (or more) hints I've dropped over the last month and picked up a new iron for me. It's a Hamilton Beach Smart Lift iron, designed for easy pressing. I've gotten as far as getting it out of the box and standing it up on my ironing board, but haven't actually used it yet. Stay tuned, I'll be sure to tell you what I think about it!

I also got a fun new cookbook, full of dairy-licious cake recipes. I made my first one yesterday, a chocolate pound cake, which was quite tasty, though I can't seem to take a decent picture of the finished cake.

The husband has been on vacation from work since Christmas Day, so I haven't managed to get behind my freshly cleaned sewing machine just yet, but I'm hoping to clock some sewing time real soon. It's been fun spending time with the family, but I'm also trying to get back into the swings of things, slowly but surely. Time to start getting ready for the new year! Organizing, planning, cleaning, all that fun stuff that I put off and only do once a year! What about you? How do you get ready for the new year? Do you have big plans for the new year? Any big shopping plans?

Have you seen the super fun linky party going on at Quokka Quilts? Laura has invited everyone to make their very own Bloggers Choice bundle of 12 prints and 3 solids for the chance to win a one yard bundle of their own personal pickings! Not that I need an excuse to shop and create a custom bundle or anything, but it sure sounded way more fun than the laundry I ought to be doing at the moment, so here's my bundle.

Ooh, fab pressies all round in your house then! I got a new iron with my money I got from my granny - I think she was most impressed that I managed to get a £100 iron for £33 in the sale at the outlet mall :oD I'm going to get to bundle building tomorrow...

Hi! I'm happy to hear that you have had wonderful Christmas time with your family! Wow how great presents! I have had 'normal' Canon Eos and now small digital Canon and I have been so happy with them. Yours is surely fantastic - enjoy! And new iron - that is also so good! Happy New Year! x Teje

I'm curious too - how did you choose that camera? It looks really nice and I know my husband and I will want a better camera eventually.Also, which cookbook are you trying out? That cake sounds delicious!

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